The Cost Of Nursing Homes and At-Home Care Goes Up Nationwide

A survey released by Genworth Financial Inc., showed that the cost for senior care continues to rise across the country. Costs were up an average of 3 percent from 2017 to 2018, with some care categories exceeding the United States inflation rate by two to three times.

The company Genworth, which released the survey, sells long-term insurance and has been publishing its care related survey for 15 years. According to Gordon Saunders the senior brand marketing manager for Genworth ““It is a benchmark to understand, as I age or as a family member ages, wha I can expect the cost is going to be.”

The availability of the type of workers to work in these settings is making it challenging - Gordon Saunders, Genworth Financial Inc.

One example of the pressure on the affordability of senior care was in Virginia, where costs rose from 2017 to 2018 for homemaker services, home health aides, adult day care and nursing home care. The largest increase was for a private room in a nursing home facility, which rose nearly 7.7 percent in Virginia to a median annual cost of $102,200.

Nationally, costs for a private room in a nursing home rose 3 percent to $100,375.

Other Cost Increases For Long-Term Senior Care

The cost of Assisted Living Facilities rose by almost 6.7 percent from 20117 to 2018, to a median cost of $48,000 per year.

The costs for home health aides saw an increase of 2.3 percent to $50,336 annually nationwide.

The cost of adult day care services rose 2.8 percent nationally to $18,720 per year on average.

According to Gordon Saunders, one of the many reasons for the increase in the cost of long-term senior care is the ability of businesses to obtain qualified staff. “The availability of the type of workers to work in these settings is making it challenging,” he said.

And as the demand for senior care services continues to increase in the U.S. and worldwide for that matter, it can be expected that the cost of such services will continue to increase as well.

Genworth reports that its data was obtained from surveying about 49,000 long-term care providers nationwide.

How Can We Afford Long-Term Senior Care?

One well reviewed and highly respected option for long-term senior care is becoming more and more available. That type of care is know, as Adult Foster Care, Senior Board and Care and other names depending upon what state you may reside in. With thousands of such homes now available throughout the U.S., many families are taking advantage of this type of senior long term care facility. Most states have licensing and staffing requirements, and these homes are an excellent alternative to nursing homes, often able to provide compatible care in a small homelike environment, and ad a much more affordable cost.

Please use our site to find such home near you and your family. And use our Help Sections to ask questions and get assistance. You will be glad you did.

Three People Accused in Massive Medicare Fraud in Florida

The U.S. Justice Department is calling it the largest criminal health care fraud case ever brought against individual suspects. The $1 Billion health care fraud took advantage of Medicare in Florida, agents said.

Three people are accused of a massive fraud involving a number of Miami-based health care providers. Many assisted living facilities may also have been part of the health care fraud.

The three facing charges are all from Florida's Miami-Dade County; they are Philip Esformes, 47, owner of more than 30 Miami-area nursing and assisted living facilities; hospital administrator Odette Barcha, 49; and physician assistant Arnaldo Carmouze, 56, according to the Justice Department .

"Medicare fraud has infected every facet of our health care system," U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said Friday while indictments against the three were announced.

Included in the indictments are accusations of leading "a complex and profitable health care fraud scheme that resulted in staggering losses, in excess of $1 billion," said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI's Miami field office.

Community Mental Health Centers and Home Health Care Providers Received Payments

Investigators say Esformes access to thousands of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries were instrumental to perpetrate the fraud. How this will affect the future of Florida Medicare remains to be seen.

It was also announced that money, in the form of kickbacks, were paid to Esformes and his co-conspirators in return for "steering beneficiaries to other health care providers including community mental health centers and home health care providers, who also performed medically unnecessary treatments that were billed to Medicare and Medicaid."

"Many of these beneficiaries did not qualify for skilled nursing home care or for placement in an assisted living facility. However Esformes and his co-conspirators nevertheless admitted them to Esformes Network facilities where the beneficiaries received medically unnecessary services that were billed to Medicare and Medicaid."

Charges of conspiracy, money laundering and health care fraud against Esformes and Barcha were also included in the announcement.

Senior Homes - What are the Options in Your State

In your search for a place for yourself or a place for mom or dad to live, you are seeing so many different names and terms for various types of senior homes and senior living. These terms and names have changed over the years and what we may have at one time called a 'Nursing Home' or 'Old Folks Home' are now called many other things. At one time thoughts of white-walled, institutional settings we we’re hesitant to visit are now independent and assisted living options offering a wide range of appealing amenities, features and socializations.

The different levels of care available today will depend on you or your loved one's needs, and various options, depending on a senior's health, age and financial status.

What is very important however, is that most if not every state in the U.S. has it's own definitions - descriptions and usually licensing requirements for senior living options. This is where we provide you with an important and useful resource for finding what your states options are.

When it comes time to choose a home for you or your senior Loved One, you may discover it is a difficult task. Your goal is to find the best home possible yet you may be looking at many, even dozens of homes on a list. How will you make the right decision?

In this article I thought to share with you some of my findings on the HIDDEN FEES that are lurking in some if not all Assisted Living Facilities' pricing structures. This came to mind after I was reviewing a checklist that AARP put out for people who are searching for an Assisted Living facility. What was it that was so surprising?

Checklist for Assisted Living and Senior Homes

Choosing an Assisted Living or Senior Home for yourself or a loved one can prove to be challenging. Here at Senior Home Search we hope to help you by providing information and links to articles that will make your search better and easier.

Do You Have a Checklist?

Using a Checklist while searching online or when visiting a home in person can be very important. It will help you ask all the right questions and get all the answers you need to make an informed decision.

We have put together a checklist for you to use. Have it handy when calling and visiting each home you are considering. It is very comprehensive and we hope you find it helpful.

There may be things on the list you did not think of and this will help you in your search. You can print out as many copies as you need to take with you when visiting each home. Click on this link to get your copy:

Our passion is providing the best information about Adult/Senior Family Care Homes as you search for a new residence for yourself or a loved one.

These Adult Family Care Homes are just that - homes that provide small intimate settings with consistent caregivers that foster a family like atmosphere.

Find The RightSenior Care Homefor Mom or Dad

When looking for a new home for our own mother we chose one of these, an AFC, and she couldn’t be happier. Around the country, access to these homes has been getting better, however with the large – hotel and apartment like facilities leading the markets for assisted living they sometimes get lost in the haze so to speak.

This is why our site is dedicated to these homes and only these homes, no big guys to muddy up the waters. Our site links you directly with the owners, no annoying care coordinators hounding you for your business and no large commission charged to the home owner. It’s a win, win for everyone.

Please feel free to use our Senior Home Search web site to find out what we did, that bigger isn’t always better and let us know what you think.

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